San Diego Padres: Has Tyson Ross Secured A Rotation Spot For Next Year?

By Randy Holt

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The San Diego Padreshave had a lot of negatives throughout a disappointing 2013 season, but they’ve also had a few positives, which lie particularly within their pitching staff. One of those positives has been the emergence of Tyson Ross in the rotation.

Coming into the year, Tyson Ross was a guy with very limited success, especially as a starter. He was a castoff of the Oakland Athletics and began the year in the bullpen. A few short months later, he looked like something of a building block for this team.

Yet, questions remained over whether or not he had proved enough to remain in the rotation moving forward. After all, his starting experience wasn’t extensive, and his first couple of starts during the regular season were rough, to say the least.

Ross has gotten better as the year has worn on for the Padres. He had a terrific May before going through a rough June, which featured an ERA over five. Once he emerged from June, though, he turned it on and had a couple of very solid months in the rotation.

His numbers on the year feature a 3.10 ERA, a solid 3.27 FIP, the highest strikeout rate of his career, at nearly 8.5 strikeouts per nine, and a 3.25 walk-per-nine rate, which also happens to be the best mark of his career. But at 15 starts, should we be looking at him as a building block?

While it might be a bit premature to refer to him as such, there’s no doubt that Tyson Ross has proved a great deal that he belongs in the Padres rotation heading into next year. He has good stuff, it’s just a matter of consistency. He’s proven to be consistent over the second half of the year and will certainly have a spot heading into next year. Whether or not he’s a true cornerstone in the starting staff, however, remains to be seen.